WORTHINGTON — Police Chief John Scobie’s new partner has been drooling on him.
The newest member of Worthington’s police force arrived in March, when the town purchased Scobie’s new backup — a 60-pound, 13-month-old Belgian shepherd named Tracer.
Scobie has been working 60-hour weeks, training the dog by day and patrolling by night. Just a month into training, Tracer is going through a crash course in aggression, tracking and obedience.
Some of those skills were on display last week during a demonstration when Scobie threw his keys into the grass. With his nose glued to the grass, Tracer found the keys in seconds, jingling them in his mouth and returning them to Scobie’s hand.
“Now my wife can never say, ‘I lost my keys,'” he said.
Tracer will undergo about 12 weeks of training and is expected to be certified in June. In total, his policing career is expected to last six to eight years.
Scobie, who is both chief and the only law enforcement official in Worthington, said that if he ever finds himself in trouble, Tracer will be the first to respond.
“One of the main reasons why we got him is for my backup, because there’s no other officer, right? So if I’m in trouble, this stays with me,” he said, as he took out a remote from under his hoodie that opens Tracer’s door on the chief’s police truck. If anything goes wrong, Tracer will track Scobie and be at the scene.
Scobie also explained that with the closest K-9 unit some 45 minutes away, Tracer will assist not only Worthington, but all the neighboring Hilltowns.
“It’s going to be a good help to the town. I know a lot of people don’t want to spend the money, and they’re always thinking, ‘oh, why are we wasting the money? Nothing happens up here,'” he said. “Well, that’s great. I wish nothing happens. I hope he never has to do anything. But I guarantee when he’s needed, you’re gonna be happy he was here.”
Whether it be someone with dementia or autism roaming the woods, or a shooter who cannot be located, Scobie said Tracer will be invaluable for tracking people down efficiently.
Charity underway
The town paid $11,000 to buy Tracer using a portion of a $32,000 grant from the Stanton K9 Foundation. The grant is intended to cover other start-up costs of establishing a K-9 unit, including training. Additionally, during February’s special Town Meeting, residents supported Scobie and Tracer’s training with $7,110 to cover transportation and other expenses.
“It’s still not enough. It’s just not, because you know he’s got to have his medical done, he’s got to be taken care of,” said Scobie. To raise money, the Police Department will start a charity to cover any costs that may arise.
Scobie said things can go south quickly when it comes to the dog’s health, especially since shepherds are prone to stomach bloat. He also needs a reserve of funding on hand if a tragedy occurs — an event that can’t wait for voters to approve funding at the annual Town Meeting, he said.
“One of the things I’m mostly concerned with is a catastrophic injury,” he said. “My wife would be like, ‘put it on the credit card, we’ll sell the house, we’ll sell our kids’ — she’d probably do that. But you know, if he gets shot, and I have to bring him to the ER at almost $10,000, obviously I want to be able to say, ‘we have the money to save his life.'”
Catastrophic injuries are not unheard of for police dogs since people tend to panic when being chased by a dog, said Scobie. In response, they often retaliate against the dog with the nearest weapon, whether that be a knife, gun or even chainsaw.
“It’s so much different when someone is holding a gun to you. You’re scared, but you’re like, ‘OK it’s a gun.’ But when you got a beast like that running at you at like 70 mph, people really do panic,” said Scobie.
As Tracer continues to train, Scobie’s struggle is “keeping the dog miserable,” which he said has to be done. Tracer has to work for everything, whether it is his ball or a piece of hot dog.
Given Tracer’s baby face, Scobie said it has been hard for him and his family to not spoil the dog. Even the dog’s trainers, Deputies Joel Wun and John Mach, have had to remind Scobie to keep a commanding demeanor.
But the two partners are quickly becoming good friends.
“He’s awesome, you can’t beat him, he’s great,” said Scobie. “I have so much fun with him. Like if I took that ball he would run back and forth for hours. Literally, my arms [would] fall off before he’s tired. That’s all he wants.”
